Sunday, May 5, 2024
5/5/2024
DenverStrong: Building Resilience and Ending Stigma through Education will train individuals to recognize the signs and symptoms of mental disorders, teach them crisis de-escalation techniques and educate them about mental health providers so they can refer individuals to appropriate services. The Denver Department of Public Health and Environment (DDPHE) and its partners, Denver Public Health (DPH), a department of the Denver Health and Hospital Authority; and Denver Human Services’ Child Welfare Division, Prevention Services, will train 1,000 individuals each year (3,000 over the project period). Those targeted for training include first responders; healthcare providers and lay staff who work in Denver’s safety-net hospital; veterans and veteran service providers; city employees; educators; community and faith-based leaders; recreation center staff; and child welfare-affiliated families and providers of childcare services and foster and kinship care. These categories of individuals were selected because they are likely to interact with people who are experiencing a mental health disorder. Residents of Denver are the population of focus because in 2017, 76,088 Denver County residents age 5 and older (12.3% of the city’s population) indicated that they had poor mental health. Among those people, 64,591 indicated that they needed mental health care but did not get it during the past 12 months.[1] DenverStrong’s partners include two licensed and experienced mental health providers who will accept referrals from individuals who receive mental health awareness training: the Mental Health Center of Denver and DPH’s Outpatient Behavioral Health Services. DDPHE has selected the following evidence-based practices (EBPs) to train people to better meet the needs of individuals with mental health disorders: Mental Health First Aid; Youth Mental Health First Aid; Crisis Intervention Training (CIT); Question, Persuade, Refer (QPR); Wellness Recovery Action Plan (WRAP); Bringing the Protective Factors Framework to Life in Your Work; peer mentoring; and trauma-informed practices training and follow-up consultation. DenverStrong’s goals are to 1) increase trainees’ ability to recognize the signs and symptoms of mental health disorders among adolescents and adults and 2) increase trainees’ ability to engage effectively by assessing an individual’s mental health status and intervene effectively by providing resources and referrals to mental health services, when appropriate. The objectives are: 1) By September 30, 2021, 3,000 Denver residents will be trained in at least one of the selected EBPs; 2) By September 30, 2021, 80% of trainees will increase their intervention effectiveness scores; 3) By September 30, 2021, the number of referrals made to mental health services by trainees will increase by 70%; and 4) By September 30, 2021, 80% of trainees will have increased awareness of the signs of mental disorders and available resources. [1] Colorado Health Institute. (2018). Colorado’s new normal: Findings from the 2017 Colorado Health Access Survey.
HHS’ Tracking Accountability in Government Grants System (TAGGS) website provides access to detailed descriptions of grants, loans, aggregated direct payments and other types of financial assistance awarded by the HHS Operating Divisions (OPDIVs) and the Office of the Secretary Staff Divisions (STAFFDIVs).
